Tribal and Religious Sanitation

Even during her time in junior secondary, she had seen them returning from the same meeting she don't want to be part of now as adult. She was wondering if those educated women among them for years couldn’t bring about the change, is she the one to do that?. No, the right thing remain to focus on her dreams and prayers and be strong in resisting the advances of the suitors and pressure from her parents and siblings. For years now, she have been able to do that and its getting intense nowadays. 

Bilya Muhammad don’t even wants to marry a moslem from any tribe for she have noticed the similarities in them. Religion seems to be the dominant force behind their vanity and decision taken. He was and still interested in marrying an Igbo man from the East. After growing up in polygamous family and seeing the cold and hot wars going on there, she had made up her mind that It has to be Igbo nan or no marriage. She had made up her mind far back in secondary level that it has to be Igbo man. 

What she witnessed in hospital during her houseman ship strengthened her resolve that it has to be Igbo man or no other. 

She was in the hospital that particular day when suddenly, one woman was rushed into the hospital and one thirty-something year old man followed wailing: “ where is the Doctor, where is the Doctor?” When he noticed the doctor coming, he rushed to him wailing: “ please, doctor, don’t let her die, don’t let her die”. His actions, tears and utterances made the patients around to burst out laughing. Even at the doctors assurance to try his possible best, the man wanted to follow him into the emergency room till he was stopped by the security men.

   Why were the people laughing?

The incident happening around them was like tale by moon light to them. They had never witnessed out pouring If emotion like that in their lives before. In fact, It was considered to be stupid by the people. According to them, there many women floating around and if the man wife dies, he can always marry another one. What is the drama for?, they reasoned.

They meant what they were saying that day, after all, their fathers(if the man was actually their father) married four. If one does, three still remain and the man can easily replaced the dead one if he so much desired. Bilya has witnessed countless incidents like that and reasoning like that too, she was never surprised when people burst into laughter. 

Igbos like the doctor was discussing with his colleagues after treating the woman of exhaustion that led to fainting, spend a lot in marriage and other things that comes with it, traditional and church weddings. Once any man passed that route, he never wants to do that again in the name of divorce or premature death.

97 percent of them, stick to one wife. In moslem North, it’s usually four at ago and the man has right to offload those four and import another four according to the teachings of the great prophets Mohammed. That life is not what Bilya wants to experience, even the educated doctors has the same view of everything with patients. 

Load, offload and import system of marriage culture of the Moslem north doesn't appeal to her. No one likes sharing her property with another person unwilling. 

All these incidents were before some governors introduced Sharia laws in their states. The illiterates and literates jumped in to cement what they had been doing for years legally. Their wives were imposed on more and more legally now, some even brought unfounded allegations against their wives and like some and maim others. 

A year ago, Bilya had followed NGO group she was member of to workshop in Lagos. Like magic, she met one Igbo man that attended the workshops and that was how she became Mrs. Lily’s okoye within three months after the workshop. That moments they eyes locked, she knew that whoever that man was, it was him and no other person. He turned to be Igbo. Talk of ‘Ask and you shall receive.’ 

A year into the marriage, she is still finding her feet in a culture that has many portfolios to explore. Her husband, Mr. Mike okoye wants her to be grounded in a culture and everything that pertains to Igbo man. She was even studying catechism on her own. Few woman organizations in the church, he had joined them. It surprises her sometimes that there even something call divorce in this religion considering the way the marriage course was structured to touch everything that might cause disharmony in marriage. The course lasted two months and touched on every thing that relate to the behavior of both husband and wife. The green, yellow and red lines the spouse should not cross. Even how to relate to the children that have not been born yet. So, from the word go, the marriage was meant to last.

She was even coming to understand the religion and liking it. It is similar to Islam in some ways. Like the position of women in the church, but, it is still open than Islam in the sense that Reverend Sisters are recognized as being important somehow in the church. 

She had been studying the Bible and some Igbo cultures that related in some way that she was wondering if it was copied from the Bible and was surprised to learn otherwise.

“ Most of the cultures in the Bible looks like carbon copy of Igbo culture, we’re It copied from the Bible or what?”

“ No, even Igbo people wonders about the similarities at times”

“ Maybe, you formulated some of your cultures after coming in contact with the Bible”

“ Ah!, maybe truly, the Jewish people has lost connection with Igbo man.”

It was the language she was struggling with for the reason that most of the words has the same spelling, different pronunciation and meaning. Signs we’re the guides to accurate pronunciation. She equally noticed that the language were sound base, most of the names comes from how the thing sounds. The alphabets resembles the English alphabets, in fact, it was coined from it. There are many things to learn and know in Igbo culture and tradition.

Cooking is of importance to them and female flocks were expected to master it before finishing secondary level. She have found the culture and tradition interesting and she knew that mastering the language is the key to other aspects being easy.